


The Good Kind Of Mistake

by PlanetarySTOP



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Dealing With Loss, Drunken Mistakes, Fluff, High School, Light Angst, M/M, but not super-sad, but not that sappy stuff that everyone does, relationship establishment, this is not Twist and Shout, underaged drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 04:19:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2215572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlanetarySTOP/pseuds/PlanetarySTOP
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester is an 18 year old high school senior who is brilliant, charming, and attends a few too many parties. Castiel Novak is a fellow senior and is as studious (and single) as they come.<br/>Dean went to a friend's house and was up partying and drinking. When he attempts to go home, he finds himself in the wrong house and ends up in bed with his neighbor and long-time crush, Castiel Novak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Dean Winchester POV

"I'm going to Jo's place, Sammy" Dean Winchester called into the house from the open front door, his body already halfway out. He pulled his keys to his car, a '67 Chevy Impala, down from the hook by the side of the door. He tossed them in the air once, twice, then put them back on the hook with a faint metallic clank. He would walk to Jo's. She only lived a few blocks over and anyways, he didn't want some tipsy freshmen making out on the hood like last time he had brought the car to a party. 

"At 10:00 on a school night?" Sam called out from the top of the stairs, poking his head out of his room upstairs to peer down at Dean. "And don't call me Sammy. That's the name of a chubby ten year old. It's Sam" he said crossly, pulling out of his room a bit further to cross his arms and scowl at Dean. At 6' 4", Sam was tall and imposing to most people who met him. However, Dean was only a few inches behind and was not intimidated by the taller sophomore. 

"Okay, Sammy," Dean said with a grin. Sam's scowl deepened. "What are you, my mother? I'll be back before midnight, don't worry about me." Dean said, throwing the last words over his shoulder towards his little brother as he slid the rest of the way out the door and shut it behind him with a bang. 

"That's what you said last time," Sam grumbled. Dean had gone out multiple times that week and it was only Wednesday. Maybe he'd be home before 12:00. Maybe he would actually follow through on his promise. Maybe he would be late like he always was. Maybe this time would be different. Sam highly doubted that. 

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

"So you're sure you don't wanna come? I won't make you do another keg stand like last time!" 

"Jo, that keg stand was a one time thing! Why do you keep bringing it up?" Castiel Novak complained into his cell phone. He was perched on his desk chair with the phone balanced between his ear and shoulder, massaging the cramps from his hands as he did so. He had been sitting at the desk for upwards of three hours already and he wasn't looking forward to another couple of hours. "I have to study for this physics test if I want to pass the class." He sighed into the phone. "Plus you know my parents would never let me go out to a party this late on a school night."

"Okay, first of all, Genius Boy, there is no possible way you could fail physics, you probably have a perfect average. Stop pretending you're not one of the smartest kids in the grade. Secondly, you are a freaking senior, if your parents don't want you going our at 10:00, then you may have a problem." Jo's voice came through the phone sounding tinny but obviously annoyed. "But if you're sure....."

"Yes Jo, I'm sure. No keg stands for me. Go have fun at your party." Castiel said. 

"See you later then." Jo hung up and Castiel was left clutching his cell phone.

Castiel wished he could go to Jo's party, he really did, but he needed to study. Dispute what Jo may think, he wasn't that smart. Plus, he was never really good at parties. He always ended up being the kid who embarrassed himself and would probably end up being the talk of the school tomorrow. No, it was safer for him to stay at home.

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

Dean walked through the open door of the Harvelle house. He could hear the thumping bass of the music from halfway down the street and could smell the faint odor of sweaty bodies before he even walked inside. In the house, the music was so loud that Dean could barely hear himself think. People were everywhere, sitting on counters and couches, hanging off the staircase and one guy was doing what appeared to be a drunken keg stand, albeit unsuccessfully if his teetering body was anything to go by.

"Oi! Quit it! Last person to do a keg stand nearly broke half my mom's china!" A voice called from the other room. Dean grabbed a beer and followed the sound, finding Jo at its source. She spotted him immediately and waved him over enthusiastically.

"Hey Dean!" Jo called to him. She was swaying slightly where she sat at the bar stool in her family's kitchen. "Glad you could come." She seemed slightly drunk to Dean but then again, everyone was slightly drunk at this party, except for Dean. 

"Hey. How are you doing? Haven't seen you in a while." Dean said conversationally. 

"Yeah, well, if you bothered to drop by, you would already know how I was." Jo complained.

"Okay, you whiny girl. I'm gonna go get a drink, say hi to people, and I will be back. Then we can catch up, okay?" Dean promised.

"I already see a drink in that hand if yours. You sure you need another?"Jo looked pointedly at the beer bottle in his hand.

"Not you too." Dean groaned. Jo furrowed her brow at him and he waved her off with a hand. "Never mind." He said, walking away to socialize with some of his other buddies.

Almost two hours later, Dean returned to Jo, who had made her rounds and was now back at her bar stool, sitting idly and swinging her legs as she spun the seat around in a circle, clutching what appeared to be another drink in her hand.

"Jo," he said, his tongue feeling thicker than usual. "Is there anyone I would actually know here?" Dean has been all around and had searched for his friends but it seemed that only Jo was there. Additionally, he had been approached by no less than six different girls, all pretty high schoolers who seemed nice enough. He had talked with them, been polite and courteous but had then brushed off, much to their obvious disappointment. Despite his current drunken state and ever present sharp retorts that could cut like razors, Dean Winchester was quite attractive with his sandy blond hair and bright green eyes. 

"Lisa's here." Jo sang. "You know you loooove her." Yeah, Jo was most definitely drunk. 

"Jo, you know I'm not on speaking terms with Lisa." Dean replied. "Remember last year?" "The big 'Dean-cheated-on-Lisa-and-she-loved-him-but-he-didn't-really-cheat-and-we-all-know-it-because-it-was-Lisa-who-cheated' fiasco?" "You're so smart." Dean snarked. He tried to think but his thoughts were sliding around in his head like jello on a hot car hood. "What about that nerdy kid?" Dean asked. "Ya know, your dark haired friend. The one who's always tilting his head and doesn't get any of my references to movies. Weird name too. Something with a 'C'...... Charles or Chris or....."

"Castiel?"

"Yeahhh" Dean slurred. "That one. He here?"

"Nope. Studying. Why?"

"I dunno. I wanna talk to someone" Dean whined. Something told him he should shut his mouth and not talk about this guy in front of Jo. He had a feeling that, if she remembered this conversation the next day, he would never hear the end of it. The words "Dean looooooves Castiel" accompanies by Jo's laughing face swirled around in his brain only to join the rest of his thoughts in a hazy, alcohol-induced muddle. 

"Mmhhhmmm" Jo stared at Dean, making thoughtful noises and humming to herself until Dean thought the buzzing noises would drive him insane.

"What?" 

"Nothing." Jo suddenly appeared slightly more sober, but Dean didn't notice. "Just thinking."

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

It was now midnight and Castiel was still studying. He should probably go to sleep, being that one of the many reasons he stayed home from Jo's was to get some sleep. He hadn't had a proper nights sleep in what felt like weeks, only getting four hours or so at a time, making school a bitch and headaches a normality. Castiel just couldn't bring himself to shut the textbook and put away his notes. 

Jo would probably tell him that his studying habits were an issue, that they were problematic and that he didn't get out enough. His other friends.... well, Castiel didn't really have many other friends. Charlie was his friend but she was more of a computer person and when Castiel tried working with computers, most of the time he ended up throwing it or yelling at the screen because it wasn't doing what he wanted. So he and Charlie didn't hang out as much as they had before Castiel smashed a computer. 

"That's it." Castiel muttered. He was going to sleep now, who cared if he didn't do well on the physics test? Not him. 

Castiel stood up from his desk and stretched. He glanced around his bedroom. In his one story house, his room was on the far left, with two windows and a big maple tree outside. His bed was under the larger of the two windows and was a complete mess. The window above it was open, letting the breeze in from outside in an effort to keep the room cool in the warming spring weather. His bedroom walls were a multitude of colors at the moment. He was painting his room as a graduation present, even though it was still a month or so until June. 

There were blues and grays and a couple of oranges that his mom insisted were gorgeous but frankly made Castiel's eyes hurt. But most of the colors were green. Castiel's walls were covered with hundreds of shades of green, ranging everywhere from forest green and emerald green to jade green and bright green to mint green and pale spring green. They were everywhere in the room and had even started to cover the other paint colors. Castiel was still looking for the right green though. He had even started to mix his own greens, looking for the perfect shade. The amount of paint in his room drove his mother crazy but he liked it. 

Castiel yawned and looked at the clock. It was 12:07 and he was exhausted. He stripped off his jeans and fell into bed wearing his boxers and a t-shirt, almost immediately falling asleep, the window above him still open and cooling off the room. 

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

Dean was sitting on the couch. Sprawled was probably a better word for it though. He drinking yet another beer and he had a feeling that if his dad ever found out that he had been drinking this much, he would probably never see the light of day. Dean glanced down at his watch and realized what time it was. He yelped and jumped up, or at least tried to but he was so tipsy that all he did was stand up only to crash back down on the sofa. It was 12:47 and he had promised Sam that he would be home ages ago. 

hauling himself up, Dean shook his head like a wet dog. He may have a nice buzz now but the headache in the morning would be a bitch to deal with. Rushing to a still tipsy Jo, he said a hasty good-bye and mumbled something about midnight and a promise and ran out the door, leather jacket in tow. 

Dean was most definitely drunk when he climbed back into his house through his bedroom window on the far left side of the house. If he had been more sober, he may have noticed the differences in the outside of the house, like the fact that this was only a one story house and he lived in a two story building. He might have noticed the soft meow of a cat or the way his nose itched from the cat hair. Dean would have most definitely noticed the warm, sleeping body already in the bed, that he had crawled into, but he was too far gone. He may have noticed the distinct smell of something other than metallic car parts and car oil that usually lingered around his house, the familiar smell of home that drifted along the halls and sat heavy in the garage. He may have realized that the smell was too clean, like cinnamon and watermelon and fresh water, but the alcohol in his system was too deep into his brain and all he knew was that the bed was warm and he was exhausted. 

Dean snuggled into the warm body already in the bed, not even noticing it was there, and promptly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sam Winchester POV 

Sam woke up at 5:30, like usual. He was always on time and today was no different. School started at 7:30 and Dean usually drove him in. Sam rolled out of bed and got dressed. Opening his bedroom door, he went downstairs to start breakfast and wake up Dean. Dean was the only one in the house who slept on the ground level. Why he choose that room was beyond Sam. The sun shine in at an ungodly hour of the morning and it was always too hot or too cold inside. 

"Dean?" Sam called as he stuck his head into Dean's open bedroom door. "You up?"

As Sam looked around the room, it was obvious that Dean wasn't there. In fact, it looked like he had never even gotten back to the house last night. The bed was made and it looked the same as it had before Dean had left last night.

"Damn you, Dean Winchester." Sam muttered, slamming the bedroom door shut. Turning around to head back to the kitchen, Sam pulled his cell phone from his pocket and texted Dean. 

'Where are you?' -Sam

Sam shoved the phone back into his back pocket and waited for Dean's reply, knowing that he most likely wouldn't get one. Sam rolled his eyes and went back downstairs to make himself breakfast. 

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Castiel woke up snuggled against something very warm and very good smelling. He stretched languidly, arching against the warm thing he was curled up against. As he did so, he became aware of an arm around his waist. The arm contracted, pulling Castiel closer to its owner. Castiel froze, suddenly wide awake. 

He slowly turned his head to look at whoever was in his bed, confused. His eyes landed on a freckled face. It was some guy who looked vaguely familiar to Castiel, but he couldn't place the face. The guy had dark blond hair and was still fast asleep. 

"Ummm" Castiel whispered. "Hello? you're kinda in my bed....." he added, speaking louder this time. What sort of thing was that to say? Castiel mentally smacked himself for being idiotic. 

The guy didn't wake, only snuggled closer to Castiel's body and buried his face in Castiel's neck, mumbling something quietly. 

Castiel groaned inwardly. Why did the weird stuff always have to happen to him? It didn't help that the guy was starting to make quiet noises of happiness into Castiel's neck, making Castiel shiver. 

"Dude, wake up!" Castiel said again, even louder. "You're squishing me."

With a groan, the guy stirred and flipped open one stunningly bright green eye. He seemed to focus on Castiel's face and then the other eye opened and he pulled away from Castiel quickly.

Castiel pulled back even quicker when he realized why the guy looked so familiar. This was Dean Winchester, the king of the high school. Smart, funny, and charming enough to get out of anything. Plus, Castiel may have let slip on occasion to his sister Ana that he had a small (read huge) crush on him. Not that Dean knew that, 'that' being the fact that Castiel had a crush on him. At least, Castiel hoped he didn't know. He doubted Dean even knew who he was, let alone recognize him from school, even though they shared most of their classes. 

But Castiel was wrong. "Why the hell am I in your bed, Castiel Novak?" Dean asked in a shocked whisper. 

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

Dean woke to a voice telling him to wake up. He groaned and opened one eye to tell Sammy to go away and get a friend to drive him to school. But when he opened his eye, it wasn't Sam that he saw but a different, bright eyed boy. He was looking over his shoulder at Dean. The guy had gorgeous blue eyes and dark brown hair, almost black. 

And Dean was holding him tightly against his body. 

Dean opened both eyes now and immediately drew away. This was Castiel Novak, the guy from more than half of Dean's classes, the one with perpetually messy hair who was quiet but extremely smart, the gorgeous one. Yes, Dean was bi but he didn't make a habit of going around and telling everyone, let alone sleeping, even of it was accidental, with random guys from school, even if he thinks the guy is undeniably hot, which Castiel is. He had learned early on that people were judgmental and that you shouldn't tell certain people certain things. 

Castiel's eyes widened and he too pulled away from Dean. Castiel seemed to blush slightly but Dean couldn't be sure. It didn't really matter to Dean anyways. All he could think about was the fact that somehow, he had ended up in Castiel's bed last night and neither of them really knew how. 

"Why the hell am I in your bed, Castiel Novak?" Dean whispered and Castiel seemed shocked that he was talking to him. Yeah, Cas may have been a little weird, not many people talked to him, but did he really expect Dean to be silent after discovering that he had spent the night in bed with the guy he barely knew. 

"Why are you asking me?" Castiel said. "You're the one in my bed," he accused. He sat up and Dean copied him, both boys perching on the edge of the bed. 

Oh boy. Dean sighed. He was in for a major embarrassment. "Look man, I'm really sorry. I don't know how I got here. I thought I was at my house and I guess I didn't realize."

"You didn't realize?" Castiel said incredulously. "Our houses are nothing alike. You have a two-story house, first of all. Second of all, there is no gigantic maple tree outside you're bedroom window. And third, there was already a person in the bed! How can you not notice that?"

Dean raised an eyebrow. "I think I'm more concerned about the fact that you know the layout of my house than the fact that I didn't notice you in the bed."

Castiel blushed. "Shut up," he muttered. "It's not my fault you talk about yourself a lot. And we are neighbors." he added. 

"Whatever, I'm just messing with you." Dean grinned. "But seriously, I am sorry. I was at a friends house last night and I may have had a bit to much to drink..." Dean trailed off, grinning sheepishly at Castiel. 

Castiel have a little half smile back. "Understandable." A long moment passed in which Dean and Castiel just looked at each other. Castiel cleared his throat. "Ummm, do you have to go or...."

Dean's smile fell. "Oh right, I need to get home now. Gotta drive Sammy to school." He hopped up and looked around the room, searching for the door. He found it and walked over, opening it and sliding out halfway. 

"Nice paint colors, by the way. Green, huh?" he remarked. "That's cool." Castiel stared at him, probably wondering if he was serious or not. "See you in school, Cas." Dean grinned again and slid out the door fully, shutting it behind him.

_________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Castiel let out a groan as soon as the door was fully shut behind Dean. Why did he always have the awkward stuff happen to him?

Castiel stood up and stretched, walking over to his closet to look for some clean clothes to wear. On the way over, he glanced around the room and realized something. The paint colors were all green, like Dean's eyes. In fact, the only color really missing from the walls was the exact shade of Dean's eyes. That green was probably Castiel's favorite color and was the most gorgeous green Castiel had seen. He immediately wanted it for his room. He sighed. Castiel knew he was screwed. At this point, Castiel Novak realized he may have more than just a minor crush on Dean Winchester. 

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

Dean shut the door behind him. He grin grew when he heard Castiel groan behind the door. Dean chuckled to himself and left Castiel's door in search of the exit. 

Pulling out his cell phone, Dean saw Sam's text message asking him where he was. He was supposed to drive Sam into school at 7:00 and it was 7:12. Dean dialed Sam's number and he picked up on the first ring. 

"Hey Sam. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner, I got distracted and I-"

"Dean, you have a lot of explaining to do."

"Sam, listen to me, I'm really sorry, I am. I meant to come home on time but-"

"I'll be home before midnight, Sam. Don't worry, Sam." The mocking voice said through the phone, sounding tinny and distant. "I swear Dean, you do this too much! I nearly called Dad and you know that he doesn't like when we call him when he's away on business."

"Oh yeah, I do." Dean muttered to himself. John Winchester wasn't exactly a father figure, what with his excessive drinking, long work hours and crude nature.

Dean sighed onto the phone. "I promise it won't ever happen again."

"That's what you said last time" Sam retorted. "I'm going to Gabriel's house, he's gonna drive me to school because my big brother is to self involved to care." Sam yelled the last few words into the phone. 

"Gabriel? Gabriel Novak? No, Sam wait don't-"

But Sam had already hung up on him. With a sigh, Dean tucked his cell phone back into his pocket. Gabriel Novak was, as the last name suggested, Castiel's little brother. He was Sam's age and was never seen without some form of candy in his mouth. And Dean was here in his house and has just accidentally spent the night with his brother. 

Dean slumped against the wall next to Castiel's door. Why did Sam have to choose Gabriel? Didn't he have other friends? Dean didn't care that it was probably more convenient for Sam, even though he knew it was selfish of him. He just wished he wouldn't have to endure the embarrassment when Sam walked into their neighbor's house to find a rumpled Dean standing around. 

Dean cringed slightly at the thought and pushed off the wall with a sharp forward motion. He started walking down the hall towards what he hoped was the front door, freezing in his tracks when another door along the wall opened and Ana, Castiel's younger sister by five years, emerged. She blinked sleepily at Dean and nearly walked past him. Then her eyes widened and she took a second look. 

"Are you.... Dean?" she asked. 

"Uh... yeah, why?" Dean replied, immensely confused how this thirteen year old knew who he was. Even though the Winchesters and Novaks were neighbors, Dean had never really interacted with any of them. Sam was a friend of Gabriel's but that was probably the most contact they had. 

"No reason." Ana blushed slightly. "You look exactly how he described you so I guessed it made sense." Ana spun away from Dean and ran off. 

"He?" Dean called after her. "Who?" But Ana was gone and Dean didn't feel like chasing her through the house. Assuming that Ana meant Sam, Dean shrugged and kept walking down the hall. 

Towards the end, another door opened and a blond boy stuck his head out. Was Dean going to wake up the entire Novak family as he tried to leave? The boy saw Dean immediately and sighed, opening his mouth, probably to ask why he was there, but what Dean got was much different. 

"CASTIEL, WHY IS THERE A STRANGE BOY IN THE HOUSE?"

Oh God, no. Dean thought. Please let Cas be asleep still please let him still be asleep please let him still be asleep please-"

"Lucifer, why the hell are you screaming this early in the morning?" Dean turned slowly and felt himself blushing as he saw Castiel stumbling sleepily out of his bedroom. "And why do you assume I would know why Dean is here?"

"But you do know." Lucifer (Was that really his name? Dean wondered.) replied with a smirk. 

"Yes I know, butt out of my business." Castiel said, sliding back into his room with a yawn. "Adios brother, I'm going to sleep again....." Castiel trailed off with another huge yawn. "Wake me up, when September ends" he mumbled, singing the last bit as he shut the door again, hiding himself from Dean and Lucifer's gaze. 

"What are you, Cassie's boyfriend or something?" Dean heard. He turned around sharply, putting his back to Castiel's door and spluttering as he tried to process exactly what Lucifer said. 

"His what?"

"Boyfriend. As in a male friend who may engage in activities of a sexual nature with my brother and-"

"Stop." Dean commanded and thankfully, Lucifer's mouth shut. "First of all, I'm not involved with your brother in any way, got it? It was a simple, honest mistake. I went to the wrong house last night, thought yours was mine, I ended up with Castiel. Secondly, why would you think I'm his boyfriend?"

"Didn't you know? Cassie is gay, Dean."

"Oh." Dean had no idea. He knew Castiel probably wasn't completely strait. He had never had a girlfriend but Dean had always figured he was a prude or something. "Good to know." he said, not really knowing exactly what to say. "I'm just gonna...." he gestured to the hall behind Lucifer.

"Yeah, sure. Front door is down the hall and to the right." 

"Thanks." Dean muttered, scurrying past Lucifer and following his directions. He found the door and pulled it open, only to stop short. Sam was already outside the house, one fist raised to knock on the door. 

"Dean? What are you doing here?"

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Why why why did Lucifer have to embarrass him in front of Dean Winchester? On top of that, Lucifer would probably tell Dean that he, Castiel, was gay. He didn't think he was ready for Dean to know that. He had just slept, albeit unknowingly, with him last night. Knowing Dean, everyone in school would know about this by the end of the day. Just his luck. 

He started tunelessly humming. His earlier mumbling of that song by Green Day had been a total heat-of-the-moment kind of thing; Castiel wasn't really into that sort of music. He shuffled around his bedroom, looking for something to wear, finally settling on a blue button down shirt and jeans. He opened his bedroom door and went across the hall to the bathroom. Castiel trudged inside and stared at his face in the mirror. He reached up to pull at his unruly dark brown, almost black hair in a futile attempt to make it lay flat. He failed miserably and sighed, leaving the bathroom to head for the kitchen. As he was walking, he heard voices talking loudly. They seemed to be arguing. Castiel swung around the corner to see Dean still in the house at the front door, talking to a shaggy, brown haired boy, maybe one or two years younger than himself and much taller. 

"Sam," Dean was saying. "It was an accident! I never mean to get lost, it just happens!"

The other boy, Sam, rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure Dean, whatever you say. I'm going in with Gabriel, you're welcome to stay here and hangout with whatever girl you 'accidentally'," he put air quotes around the word, "brought here."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Dean was almost yelling now. "I didn't bring a girl here! I climbed into the window and ended up-"

"In my bed." Castiel said as he leaned against the wall. Dean whipped around to stare at Castiel. His eyes were huge, like he had forgotten that Castiel lived here and that Dean himself had woken up in his bed this morning. 

"Or boy." Sam added to his pervious statement. 

"Shut up." Dean muttered. He looked embarrassed. "This isn't any of your business Sam."

"Wait, hold up." Sam said, connecting the dots. He looked between the pair of seniors. "You guys actually slept together? As in like," he paused, "you slept together or you slept together?" Here he threw in a wink and an eyebrow wiggle. 

"Sam!" Dean yelled in shock. "What the hell, man?" Dean glanced at Castiel once, the looked away quickly when he saw that Castiel was watching him. "Just because I'm bi doesn't mean I sleep with everyone I meet!"

"Okay." Sam said with a smirk. Dean glared at him. "GABRIEL!" he shouted into the house, making Castiel and Dean jump. A door down the hall opened and Gabriel came bouncing out, kidding to a stop in front of Castiel and the Winchesters. 

"Hey Samsquatch." He said with a smile, sticking a red candy into his mouth. "Ready?" 

"Bye Dean. Have fun with Castiel." Sam called with a wink as he whirled around and opened the front door, pausing to give Dean a suggestive grin. Dean blushed crimson and looked down at his feet. Behind Sam, Gabriel smiled, his teeth tinted reddish from his candy. 

"Bitch." Dean mumbled towards his feet, his ears bright red. 

"Jerk." Sam replied, shutting the door behind him, leaving Castiel alone with Dean in the house. 

"I'm going to head out now." Dean mumbled to his shoes. His blush had faded mostly but he still wasn't looking at Castiel. 

"Huh?" Castiel said. 'Oh God, could I get less eloquent?' he thought with an inward grimace. "You're going? Oh, uh okay... I.... I'll see you later then." he stuttered, feeling his ears go pink. 

"Yeah......" Dean said, drawing the word out like a piece of taffy. "See you soon." He turned away from Castiel, glancing at him quickly, green eyes bright. He opened the front door and went through, pausing before he closed it behind him.

After the door closed, Castiel groaned, slumping against the wall with a huff. He was so not looking forward to school today.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dean Winchester POV

Dean slid into his first period class as the final bell was ringing. At least he made it this time. One more tardy and Mr. Crowley would have his head. It wasn't his fault that the physics class was so easy. Dean had already taken a similar class and wasn't really challenged in this class. He loved physics so much thought that he didn't have the heart to switch out. 

Plus, Castiel was in this class, not that he had any affect on whether or not Dean stayed in the class. 

Before the teacher started talking, Dean scanned the room for Castiel. Dean didn't immediately spot him and became slightly worried. What if he didn't want to come to school because if what happened between them? Dean dismissed this thought immediately though. He was not a pansy of a girl who was pining for her boyfriend. He was, as Sam like to put it, 'the manliest man to ever man', a phrase that sent Dean into stitches ever time Sam said it, but was accurate. 

Mr. Crowley started droning on in his stupid accent, talking about waves and particles and something else that Dean didn't bother paying attention to. He was too busy wondering where Castiel was. Dean sighed quietly and looked down at his notes, writing down what Crowley was saying, not really paying attention as he did so. 

Five minutes into the class, the door opened and the dark haired boy stumbled in, clutching his books and panting like he had run all the way from the parking lot, which he probably had. 

"I'm sorry. I know I'm late." Castiel got out between heaving breaths. "Car troubles." 

"That's no reason for lateness Mr. Novak." Crowley said cooly. "One more time and you may be spending a detention with Mr. Winchester, who, if memory serves, has been late even more times than you."

Dean looked up from his notes, shocked that the teacher was bringing him into this. He hadn't done anything wrong today. Yet.

"I'm uh... I'm sorry sir. Won't happen again." Castiel said, mumbling slightly. He moved to sit down in the back of the classroom. 

"No. Novak, I want you up front." Crowley barked and Castiel jumped. He turned around and walked back towards the front. The only open seat was in front of Dean. Castiel sat and opened his notebook. He started doodling but ended up taking noted when Mr. Crowley looked at him pointedly.

"Sorry." Castiel muttered. His ears turned red and he looked down at his paper. 

Dean ripped a piece of paper out of his physics notebook, trying to be quiet, but ripping paper isn't exactly a silent task. He scrawled on it, 'What's wrong with your car?' He tapped Castiel on the shoulder and slid him the paper. At first Castiel ignored it and continued taking notes but he soon looked at it and wrote back a reply in handwriting much neater than Dean's. 

'No idea. It just won't do anything' the note said. 

'Anything?' Dean wrote and Castiel smiled at the paper. 

'Anything.' 

'Want me to come over later? I'm good with cars; I work as a mechanic on weekends.' Dean slipped the note to Castiel, who read it silently, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth as he did so. 

'Really? That would be great. Gabriel can't drive me everyday and when Michael drives me, I'm late to class.'

'Sure. When is good for you?'

'Can you do right after school?' came Castiel's reply. Dean bit his lip, thinking hard before replying. 

'That sounds fine. See you then?'

'See you'

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

The final bell rang and Castiel slipped out of history class ahead of the crowds. He hurried down the halls and walked out the front doors. It was warm, but humid, like it might rain. Castiel was hoping beyond hope that it would stay dry, at least until he got home, but no such luck. Castiel was only about five minutes away from the school when the sky opened up and it began pouring. Plus, Castiel still had another fifteen minutes until he got home. This was just fantastic. 

"Need a ride?" A familiar voice called. Castiel looked to his left to see Dean leaning out the window of a black car. 

"Me?" Castiel asked.

"No, I meant the invisible man behind you. Yes, you."

"You sure? Because I don't wanna get your car all wet and-" Castiel began. Dean cut him off. 

"I offered, didn't I? Come on Cas, get in."

Cas? Castiel rolled the nickname across his tongue, trying to decide if he liked it. He found it was better than his brother's nicknames, things like Cassie or Sassy Cassie or just stretching out the letters of his name into one big ''Caaaaassssstiiiielllllllll"

Castiel walked around the car to the passenger side seat and opened the door, hopping in and sitting down on the worn leather seats. Dean looked him over and reached into the back seat, pulling out a towel and handing it to him. Castiel took it gratefully and he started wiping his face with it as Dean started to drive. The towel smelled like Dean; cinnamon, smoky leather and something that could only be described as Dean. 

Castiel inhaled deeply then snuck a peek at Dean. He was mostly dry, his hair slightly damp from the rain. The freckles on his face stood out against the light tan color of his skin. He was driving with one hand on the steering wheel, the other was fiddling with the music. Dean pressed a button and some artist that Castiel had never heard before began playing. 

"You don't mind, right?" Dean said, turning his head to glance at Castiel, who felt slightly embarrassed to be caught staring at Dean. 

"Um, yeah, this is fine." Castiel said quickly.

"You like Led Zeppelin?"

"Who?"

Dean turned his head to stare at Castiel with big eyes. "You mean you've never heard of him?" he said incredulously. "Cas we are going to have to change that." He said, still looking at Castiel. 

"Dean, road." Castiel reminded him. Dean finally looked away from Castiel an focused on the road again, sneaking glances at Castiel every so often. Castiel started to towel off his hair, making his perpetually messy hair even messier. He dropped the towel into his lap and reached up to try to put some order back into his hair. Like this morning though, he failed and gave up, heaving a sigh and flopping back on to the seat.

Dean glances at him again when Castiel sighed he smirked at his ridiculous fluffy hair. 

"Oh shut up." Castiel smiled as he said it though. "Nice car, by the way."

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Dean fondly patted the wheel of the car. "A '67 Chevy Impala. Dad gave her to me for my 18th birthday. Said I had to keep her in good shape but Baby is all mine now." 

"Baby?" Castiel snickered.

"Hey, watch it." Dean shot back. Dean pulled up in front of Castiel's house. "About your car though, it's still raining, so do you want me to work on it tomorrow?"

"Yeah, if you're available. Because if you're not, you don't have to, I can just get someone else to. It's not a problem really. But if you want to, you can. It would be great actually if you could." Castiel rambled. He snapped his mouth shut and felt himself turning pinkish.

"I don't mind, really." Dean said with a laugh. 

"Do you, uh, do you wanna come in?" Castiel said hesitantly. "You don't have to, I just thought, you know, we could hang out or something." Castiel looked over at Dean, who was staring at him. "Or, you know, you can just go home. No need to stay." Castiel added quickly. 

"No, I mean, yes. Sure" Dean said, stumbling through his answer. "What I mean is, if you want to hang out, sure."

Castiel smiled. He and Dean opened their car doors and Castiel led Dean to the front door. He bent down and pulled a key out from beneath the mat outside the door.

"Classic hiding spot, you know that right?" Dean commented. "First place anyone would look for a key." 

"Yeah well, whenever we move it, Lucifer keeps forgetting where it is." Castiel explained, putting the key into the door and unlocking it. "So under the mat it is." 

Castiel got the door unlock and showed Dean in. He had no idea what he was doing and was just hoping beyond hope that he didn't scare off Dean.

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

When Castiel opened the front door of his house and ushered Dean inside, he was left wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into. Here he was with a guy he barely knew but had succeeded in embarrassing not once but twice, if Castiel's reactions in Physics were anything to go on. His bitten lip, his quick suggestion to have Dean come over today, it made Dean wonder what effect, if any, he had on Castiel.

Dean snapped out of his train of thought. 'No' he thought roughly. 'There is no way that Cas is gay for me. He's probably uninterested in anyone right now. Or he likes someone else.' 

Dean shook his head like a wet dog and stepped through the doorway into the house. It was exactly as he remembered it; high ceilings, coffee brown wooden floors with cream area rugs, green walls. Dean glanced around, peering past Castiel deeper into the house, spotting a yellow sitting room directly in front of him with a coffee table and sofas. Around the corner was what appeared to be a dining room filled with elegant, high-backed chairs and a matching table. To the left was the hall that Dean had walked down earlier today, shut bedroom doors along its entirety. The Novaks may have lived in a simple, single story house, but they were obviously very wealthy. 

Dean turned to face Castiel, who was looking at him expectantly. Dean realized Castiel must have said something and Dean had missed it. 

"Sorry, what?" Dean asked, tilting his head slightly and letting a note of confusion color his voice. 

"I asked if you were hungry." Castiel gestured to the doorway to the right. "Mom went shopping yesterday so we have a full refrigerator."

"Uh, yeah that sounds great." Dean replied, kicking off his boots and pulling off his leather jacket. Castiel reached out and gestured towards the jacket. Understanding, Dean handed Castiel the jacket and he draped it over the back of the sofa in the sitting room. Then, Castiel turned and walked into the kitchen. The room had a high ceiling, like the rest of the house, a skylight and large windows, not that they were letting any sunlight in due to the storm clouds above. Castiel dropped his backpack on the floor next to a stool and strode over to the fridge. 

"We have fruits, veggies," Castiel started.

"Rabbit food." Dean muttered. 

"Leftover pizza, Chinese, hamburgers," Castiel continued with a slight smirk. He must have heard Dean's comment. 

"Burgers" Dean hummed quietly in appreciation. 

Castiel ignored his murmuring and shut the fridge, moving towards the cupboards. "Chips, crackers," he said. "M&MS," Castiel added after a moment, spotting the bright yellow bag of peanut M&MS. "Oh, and Mom baked a pie earlier, so we can probably have some of that if you want."

Dean immediately perked up. "Pie?" he asked.

"Yeah, cherry." Castiel replied. "Why? Do you like pie?"

"Like pie? Cas, I love pie. Especially cherry. Best kind. Excluding peach because you can't compare anything to peach pie."

"Okay, Mr. Pie-lover," Castiel said with a small smile. "Pie it is, though, you might want to eat something a bit more substantial." He added. 

Dean glared at him. "Rabbit food." he repeated. "I am not a rabbit, I'm a warrior."

Castiel raised an eyebrow at Dean. "Warrior? Really? What are you, six?"

"Hell yeah, I'm six. On a scale of one to five."

"You're impossible."

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Dean Winchester was here in his house. Dean Winchester. The guy that Castiel may or may not have developed a massive crush on a few years ago, thought he was over it and realized he wasn't. Dean was just so different. He was nice, funny, considerate. He smelled really good too. But if Castiel had sniffed his leather jacket before putting it on the sofa, that was his own business. 

Castiel cut Dean a large slice of pie and shoved a fresh peach on his plate. Dean had only agreed to eat the peach because Castiel had reminded him that that peach had the potential to make a phenomenal pie. Castiel had tried giving Dean celery but apparently, "There is not point to celery! It's stringy, watery, and has no flavor. Plus, I read somewhere that the celery will give you less energy than the amount needed to actually chew it. You will burn calories eating celery! No celery!" If Dean was actually right about the celery facts, Castiel may never know. He assumed so. Dean was adamant on his refusal to eat the celery so a peach it was. 

"Get over here." Castiel said, gesturing towards the couch in front of the television. "What do you want to watch?"

Dean blushed. "Dotahsessymhd" he mumbled. 

"Say it again." Castiel said, smiling slightly. He had a feeling he knew exactly what Dean had said. 

Dean cleared his throat. "Dr. Sexy M.D." He said again, this time louder and clearer. 

"Dr. Sexy, huh?"we

"Shut up. It's a good show." Dean complained. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."

Castiel found he didn't actually mind the show. He found himself getting into the plot and he and Dean started getting into heated arguments about the show itself. 

"I don't care if you think Dr. Sexy is sexy because of his cowboy boots. He is a genuinely nice guy with a great personality. If you're shallow enough to think cowboy boots make someone sexy," Castiel trailed off with a smirk. 

"Excuse me, but that's the whole point of those boots." Dean stated hotly. "Admit it, I'm right."

Castiel snorted incredulously. "Yeah, sure." he said sarcastically. 

Dean looked over at him and grinned. Castiel met his gaze and smiled back. They locked eyes for a moment too long and Dean's green eyes seemed to bore into Castiel. He blushed and looked away from the bright eyes, glancing down at his sock-covered feet. 

"Oh, Cas?" Dean started. "Your sister. Ana, right? How did she know who I was?" Castiel snapped his head up, staring at Dean in shock. "She said 'you look exactly how he described you,' so I assumed she meant Sam but I asked him today if he had ever talked about me with Ana around and he said yes, but he had never described me. Any ideas?" Dean stared at Castiel innocently. 

Castiel opened his mouth, eyes widening slightly as he looked at Dean, then turned his gaze back to the floor. "Uh, n-no, I.... I have no idea... how she could have known." He said to his feet, stuttering through his words with embarrassment. Never again would he talk about Dean with Ana if she was going to give away his secret as soon as she met him. 

Dean didn't seem to pick up on Castiel's nervousness. "Oh, okay." he shrugged. "Doesn't really matter anyways. Just curious."

Castiel looked up when he heard the front door opening. He heard someone call into the house. It was Ana, home from whatever after school club she had after school today. 

"Cassie?" she called. "I'm home. Meg is here with me." 

Castiel groaned. Meg was one of Ana's best friends. She was a few years older than Ana but they shared some classes because of the accelerated program that Ana was in. Meg was a sophomore, had curly brown hair, and completely boring. Plus, Ana had told him that she hadn't realized he was gay and was totally in love with him. 

Dean saw his expression and laughed quietly. "Not a fan of Meg, I see." he teased in a whisper as the two girls can into the room where he and Castiel were sitting. 

"Understatement of the year." Castiel muttered back. He grabbed the remote and shut off the television. 

"Clarence!" Meg squealed when she saw Castiel. 

"Still don't get that reference." Castiel sighed. Meg ignored him. 

"I am so glad you're here. Ana was just telling me about-" she broke off, noticing Dean. "And who is this pretty boy?" she asked, making Dean color slightly. Castiel grinned. He could tell Dean didn't like Meg much either. 

"Meg, this is Dean. Dean, Meg." He said nodding at each person respectively. "And you've already met Ana." he said to Dean.

"Uh huh." Dean replied, not taking his eyes off Meg. He seemed to grow, getting more and more intimidating. Meg just brushed it off. 

"So, Clarence," she began, moving towards the couch that Castiel and Dean were sitting on and squeezing herself in between them, squishing Castiel and making Dean huff in annoyance. "I was walking to my English class today and I noticed some posters advertising the end-of-the-year Senior Dance. And seniors are welcome to invite anyone from any grade to go with them. And I noticed that I was totally free the night of the dance." She hinted, snuggling closer to Castiel. 

"Your point?" he said dryly, pulling away from Meg as she nestled into his shirt. He knew exactly what she was getting at and there was no way that it would happen, he just wanted her to have to say it. 

"I was wondering if you might want to ask me to go with you." She said brightly, as if it was the best idea ever. 

Dean choked and coughed when Meg said this and Castiel pushed Meg off him and leaned forward to look at Dean. 

"You okay?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, yeah." Dean said, thumping the heel of his hand on his chest and clearing his throat. "I'm good."

"Clarenceeee." Meg whined, dragging out the word.

"Do you want some water?" Castiel asked Dean, still ignoring Meg. 

"No, I said I'm go-" 

"Okay, water it is." Castiel stood up and grabbed Dean's arm. He pulled his from the couch and dragged him towards the kitchen. 

"Oh, and Meg," Castiel paused, throwing the words over his shoulder. "I'm gay." He turned and left a stunned Meg alone with Ana. The redhead was trying to control her laughter as Meg gaped at Castiel, opening and closing her mouth in shock. 

Castiel got Dean into the kitchen and sat him down at a stood. He went over to the cupboard above the sink and pulled out a glass, filling it with water and handing it to Dean, who, like Ana, was chuckling and trying to hold back full blown laughter. 

"Oh my God, did you see her face?" Dean said through his laughter. "She looked like a fish." He sighed and gave another little chuckle. "She was so embarrassed. That was priceless."

"Glad you found it amusing." Castiel said dryly. "Now drink your damn water."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Dean Winchester POV

The screeching of Dean's alarm clock woke him up at 6:00. He grunted and reached out with one arm to slap the thing, hoping it would shut up. The clock kept beeping at its obnoxious volume, sounding like a dying barn owl. Damn, those things were loud. Dean cursed inwardly and snapped open one eye to find the offending object. He reached out again and hit the snooze button successfully this time, rolling over and falling asleep again. Five minutes later, the incessant beeping started again, getting louder and louder as it went on, but Dean slept through it this time. Sam heard it finally and slammed open the door to Dean's room. 

"You useless walnut!" he bellowed, rousing Dean out of his sleepy daze. "Get the hell up!" Sam marched over to Dean's clock and turned the volume up even higher so it was wailing and screeching so loudly that it was a wonder the neighbors didn't call the police. It sounded like someone was being murdered. Sam snatched the bed covers off Dean and left the room, trailing the duvet behind him. 

"Cold." Dean whined. "GIVE!" he called out to Sam. 

"Get up!" came the reply. 

Mentally cursing Sam, Dean rolled out of bed and tripped over his boots by the bed, too sleepy to catch himself and falling flat on his back with a dull thud. 

Dean grunted as he fell, the hard floor shocking him awake even more than the alarm and cold house had. He pulled himself to his feet using the bed next to him as a crutch and flopped onto it with a huff. He blinked blearily and rubbed his eyes. then he remembered. today was Friday. he has his physics test today, the one he hadn't even started to study for. Not that he was really nervous, he had just wanted to refresh his memory before walking blindly into the test. Too late to study now. 

Dean stood up and pulled on a pair of jeans, an army green t-shirt and his leather jacket on top. Stuffing his feet into his boots, he walked out of his room and into the kitchen, nearly knocking over a plant on his way in. When did he get so clumsy?

"Eat." Sam ordered, shoving a bowl in front of Dean. Dean raised one eyebrow at his little brother. When did Sam become the one who was taking care of then when dad was out?

Dean silently ate the cereal Sam had placed in front of him and ran upstairs to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. Running back downstairs, he opened the dishwasher and placed his bowl and spoon inside, kicking the appliance shut behind him as he turned and opened the door into the garage where his car was. 

"Sam," he paused before leaving turning to look at the boy sitting in the kitchen. "Useless walnut?"

Sam blushed. "Shut up you jerk."

"Bitch." Dean replied with a smile. He grabbed his keys off the hook by the door and walked out to his car. Sam was getting a ride from a friend today, some girl named Jessica was coming to get him, so Dean was free to get to school on time and attempt to study before his test. 

Opening the car door, Dean got into his Impala and started the car. The engine turned over smoothly and purred, the sound music to Dean's ears. He turned his music on and Back in Black by AD/DC filled the small space. Dean opened the garage door and pulled out, trusting Sam to shut it behind him when've left with Jessica. Pulling out of the driveway, Dean started down the street, quietly singing along to the music and taping on the wheel in time with the beat. He turned off the street and onto the main road, speeding up to the speed limit. 

The Winchesters only lived about two miles from the school so technically, Dean could have taken a bus to school or even walked bit driving his baby to school was so much better. Plus the bus came at an ungodly hour in the morning so there was no way Dean was going to take that mode of transportation. 

Halfway to the high school, Dean noticed a very familiar person walking down the street, brown trench coat flapping behind them and head down, plowing along towards the school. They were clutching their bag to their side and their dark hair was, as always, a messy flop of tangled strands. 

Dean slowed down as he got closer, pulling closer to the shoulder of the road. "Hey Cas," he called, making the guy look up. It was indeed Castiel Novak. "Get in, you're gonna get hit by a car."

"I'm perfectly fine, Dean." Castiel replied. He kept walking away from the Impala, making Dean drive up the road a little further so he could continue talking to Castiel. 

"No, you're not." Dean said stubbornly. "Get in."

With a sigh of defeat, Castiel stopped walking and made his way to the Impala. Opening the car door, he climbed inside and dropped his bag between his feet on the floor. Hitting the door, he glanced at Dean. 

"Thanks." he muttered. 

"No problem. I like helping you." Dean said without thinking. "I mean," he started, "I like helping people. You just happened to be there and I wanted to give you a hand. I don't just help you. I help other people too and-" Dean snapped his mouth shut. "No problem." he repeated, glancing at Castiel and seeing him smile a little. 

"My car is still broken, I missed the bus, and Michael's driving might kill me so I was going to walk." Castiel stated. Dean glanced at him sideways, the looked back at the road. 

"Yeah, I'll work on your car today." Dean said quickly. Honestly, he had sort of forgotten about Castiel's car and felt a little guilty about it. "After school." he clarified. 

"Thanks." Castiel said again. 

Dean drove the rest of the way to school, grateful for the classic rock music filling the awkward silence between them. When he got to the school, he parked the bar and Castiel practically leapt out and raced towards the school, leaving behind a few papers that had fluttered loose from his bag. With a sigh, Dean reached down to retrieve them. He could give them back to Castiel before Physics. As he picked up the pages, he froze when he saw what they were. 

Now, Dean didn't usually pry into people's private lives. Whatever it was that they wanted to do was their business. If someone didn't tell you something, there was usually a reason for it. He never looked through Sam's notebooks and Sam never teased Dean about his guitar or his pathetic attempts at art. There was a mutual respect and Dean tried to extend that to everyone around him. But when he picked up Castiel's papers, he just expected them to be notes for math class or something. He didn't think it would matter who saw the papers, he just knew that Castiel would probably want them back. So when he glanced at them and saw that they weren't notes, he was shocked. They were drawings. More specifically, drawings of people. Only one person, over and over, sometimes up to five or six times per page. They were filled with sketches of Dean. Him leaning back in his chair in English class, him sitting on Castiel's couch, him laughing, his eyes, his smile. There was one charcoal sketch of his face that took up an entire page. There was another with Dean's face on it but the eyes were pitch black, like someone had shut off the light inside him and all that was left was the night. It was drawn with such skill and obvious care that Dean felt extremely guilty for looking at the drawings. But he couldn't stop stating at them. Castiel had been drawing him, Dean Winchester, and had never given any indication of even looking at him.

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

As Castiel rushes into Physics class, he pulled out his binder to do done last minute studying. Plus, there was a drawing in there that he really wanted to finish. He pulled out the binder and opened it, flipping to the notes on waves and particles. He had left the paper he was sketching on inside the binder, right next to the notes. But it was gone. His picture of Dean with black eyes was missing. Castiel was sure that the picture had been there this morning when he has left the house but it wasn't there now. Castiel frantically searched his bag and came up empty handed. And now he could tell a few other drawings were missing as well. A sinking feeling began to blossom in his stomach. The pictures, they were close to the top of his bag. What if.....

Castiel's worried trailed off when Dean stepped into Physics. He looked windswept and nervous. In his left hand, he was clutching about six or seven pieces of paper. Dean's eyes scanned the classroom and Castiel slumped low into his seat, trying to avoid detection. To his horror, Dean noticed him and made his way over. The papers in his hand were shaking and it took Castiel a moment to realize that it was because Dean's hands were unsteady. 

"Hey," Dean said softly. "I think you forgot these in my car." He held out the papers to Castiel, who was refusing to look at him as he accepted them, thrusting them blindly into his bag and trying not to look at Dean. 

"Thank you Dean." Castiel whispered. 

"It's alright Cas, I-"

"Winchester!" a voice barked. "Sit! we are starting class." Mr. Crowley growled at Dean and the boy scuttled to his desk by Castiel, adverting his eyes from both the teacher and Castiel. 

"Pencil only. Anything done in pen is immediately marked incorrect. The test will take the whole period so I suggest you get to work immediately after you get your test." Mr. Crowley stated. "Good luck."

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

The test took forever to complete and Dean could barely focus. All he could think about was Castiel's face when he had been handed the drawings. When the bell rang, he left Physics in a daze and made his was to History. Their teacher, who refused to be called anything but Chuck, was sick today and the substitute had the class watch a movie. Normally, Dean would use this time to text his friends or flirt with someone, even do homework, but right now, he sat in silence, numb and confused.

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Castiel made it until eighth period, avoiding Dean as best he could. He even ate his lunch outside to lower his chances of running into the 6' 2" senior. But in English class, the teacher made the students work in pairs and had paired Dean with Castiel. Mr. Zachariah was out to get Castiel, he was sure of it. And now he would have to face Dean. 

"Hey partner " Dean stated as he pulled his desk towards Castiel's. "Wanna get started?" Dean gestured towards the packet on Castiel's desk. "Shakespeare isn't going to get any clearer just sitting there." Castiel looked down and took a deep breath.

"Did you...." he started.

"Cas?"

"Did you, you know, look at them?"

"The drawings?" Dean asked. 

Castiel nodded. 

"I saw them, yes, but I'm not judging you."

Castiel's stomach sank to his shoes. That's what everyone said, "I'm not judging you, I won't tell anyone", right before the whole school found out. 

"Just leave it, Dean. It's fine." Castiel sighed. But it wasn't fine. Everything was most definitely not fine. 

"Cas, I know what it's like." 

Castiel looked up at Dean. "Huh?"

"The judging. I know how it feels. I'm not strait Cas, and people don't let me forget it. I play guitar and sing sometimes and I don't tell anyone anything because I don't trust them. But here I am, trusting you because you know how it feels. I've tried drawing and I've left scraps around the house and once in New York before we moved, one of Sam's friends found it and showed it to everyone. It was just a drawing but everyone saw it and when we moved almost two months later, I was a joke to everyone. People don't like other people who are different than them and that's okay, they're entitled to that opinion. but you shouldn't feel ashamed it guilty that I saw a drawing that you made of me." 

Castiel stared at Dean. Why the hell was Dean pouring out his feeling to him? Dean seemed to realize this almost exactly when Castiel did and he flushed pinkish. 

"Yeah," he said. "So, Shakespeare?"

"Shakespeare." Castiel replied.

_________________________

Dean Winchester POV

The final bell rang and Dean practically ran from the classroom. He was looking forward to getting home and hiding out in his room. He was still mortified that he had spilled a load of shut about his life to Castiel back in English class and he didn't think he could face him right now. 

Dean got to the Impala and saw that Sam was already there. He was standing with two other guys. One was short with honey colored hair and a wolfish grin. The other was taller, but not as tall as Sammy, and had dark hair. It was Castiel and Gabriel. Dean mentally smacked himself. He had promised to fix Castiel's car this afternoon. 

"Hey Sammy" Dean said as he approached the car. "Cas, Gabriel." Dean nodded at each guy respectively. 

"Dean-o, Cassie here had just been telling us about-" Gabriel started, only to be cut short by Castiel's hand flying across his mouth. 

"Your promise to help fix my car." Castiel said hurriedly. "GROSS! Gabe? What the hell?" Castiel screeched, pulling his hand away from Gabriel's mouth. "Why did you lick me?"

"You licked him?" Sam asked. 

"Your hand was annoying and on my face." Gabriel said, sounding like a five year old as he did so. "Plus I hadn't finished what I had been about to say."

"Yeah? Well, I finished it for you. Aren't I wonderful?" Castiel said with enough snark and sass to make even Gabriel quiet. 

"Get in the car." Dean said, breaking the awkward silence. "You going to Gabe's place Sammy? Or do you wanna be dropped off at home?" 

Sam glanced at Gabriel. "We'll go to our house. You can go fix Cas' car in peace." Sam replied. 

"Sure." Dean opened the door and slid behind the wheel. Sam got into he back with Gabriel, making Dean raise an eyebrow at him. Usually Sam was quick to claim the from when there were other people in the car with them. Instead, Castiel got into the passenger seat. Dean let it slide and started the car, turning on his music again. 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' by Def Leppard filled the car and Dean hummed along as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

"Really, Dean?" Sam said from the back seat.

"What?"

"Never mind." Sam said, rolling his eyes. 

"So you want me to turn it off?" Dean asked. 

"Just leave it." Sam relied, with a hint of a condescending tone entering his voice. 

"Oh, shut up." Dean said fondly. "You know you love this song."

"I don't care." Sam said.

"Then why the hell are you bringing it up?" 

Sam sighed. "Just drive."

So they drove for the next five minutes or so in silence, Cas occasionally looking at Dean sideways and making Dean squirm slightly. The song changed and 'Heat of the Moment' came on. 

Sam groaned loudly. "Now this song I hate."

"Asia?" Gabriel piped up. "Dude, I love this!"

Castiel rolled his eyes. "It's all he ever listens to anymore" he whispered to Dean, making him laugh. 

They finally pulled up at the Winchester house and Sam and Gabriel got out, waving goodbye to Castiel and Dean and heading inside. Dean drove a little further to the Novak residence and pulled up in front of the lawn. 

Both boys got out of the car and Dean went to the trunk, pulling out a tool box and stripping off his leather jacket. It was getting hot out and if he was going to be working on Castiel's car, he was going to get very sweaty. 

"Listen, I'm going to start on the car, you can head in, watch me, whatever floats your boat." Dean told Castiel as he headed toward the hunk of metal that was Castiel's car.

As Dean got closer to the car, he recognized the model as what appeared to be a '78 Lincoln, beige, clunky, and overall unattractive. 

"Lucifer calls it 'The Pimpmobile' for obvious reasons." Castiel's voice came from behind him and Dean jumped. 

"Jesus Cas, make some noise, will you! You're like a freaking cat or something." Dean turned around to face Castiel and was, as always, shocked by the intensity of his blue eyes. "This will take me a while to fix so you can go in and eat something or whatever."

"Sure," Castiel turned away and started towards the house. "I'll be back soon."

Dean faced the car again and popped the hood. Peering in, he fidgeted with a few parts then sighed and went back to the Impala. He pulled out his creeper and went back to the Lincoln, setting it on the ground and getting situated. Then he rolled under and began to check the car more thoroughly. This was going to be a long afternoon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Castiel Novak POV

Castiel stood in the kitchen, looking at Dean work through the window. Appreciation for the way his muscles flexed and rolled under his skin filled Castiel. All he could focus on was Dean. And when he slid under the car, Castiel had just about enough. He rushed to the front door and pulled it open, silently walking towards Dean, who was still under the car. Castiel reached him and extended his arms, hands grasping Dean's ankles and pulling him out from under the car. The tall senior made a noise of surprise as he was rudely pulled away from his work but the sound was cut off by Castiel's lips crashing into his. Castiel kissed Dean with a fervent desire, pressing himself desperately against Dean. Dean responded with the same level of enthusiasm, grasping Castiel by the shoulders and pulling him impossibly closer. He ran his hot tongue along the seam of Castiel's mouth and Castiel opened for him, meeting Dean's tongue with his own. He tasted sweet and musky, like leather and whiskey and mint "Cas," Dean moaned into his mouth. "Cas," 

"CAS!" 

Castiel jolted upright and nearly smacked Dean in the forehead as he did so. 

"Hey, dude, calm down. You're fine." Dean said carefully, taking in Castiel's wide eyes and flushed face as a sign of panic. 

"Dean?" Castiel gasped. He was breathing hard and felt extremely hot. 

"Yeah Cas, it's me. You're car is almost done but it's getting late so I'm gonna head home. I'll finish the job tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, sure. That's fine." Castiel got out. Dean turned to leave the house. "Dean," Castiel called. 

"Yeah?" Dean paused in the doorway, turning his head to look at Castiel. 

"Did I come outside at any point after you started?"

"Uh, no........" Dean said slowly. "Why?"

"No reason." Castiel replied quickly. "Thanks for everything you've done, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll give you a ride anywhere you need to go tomorrow, if you need it." Dean called over his shoulder as he walked out the door, swinging it shut behind him. 

Castiel groaned. He put his head in his hands and swing his legs off the couch he had fallen asleep on. Why, why, why did he always do something weird and freak out both himself and someone else? That was totally not fair. 

Castiel picked up his head from his hands and got up slowly, lifting his weight from the couch to his own two feet. He then meandered into the kitchen to get some food. Pulling open the fridge, he stared blankly inside for a good minute before pulling out some leftover dinner from the night before. Sticking the cold chicken leg on a plate, Castiel popped it into the microwave and hit reheat. As it warmed, he reached for his cell phone in his back pocket. He had two missed calls. One was from Gabriel and the other was from his mother. She was away on business and wouldn't be back until Sunday. Noticing the new voicemail, Castiel raised the phone to his ear to listen to the message. His mother was coming back on Saturday instead, her flight had been cancelled and she had booked an earlier one instead. 

The beep of the microwave made Castiel put his phone back in his pocket and open the microwave door. Pulling out the chicken, Castiel yelped and nearly dropped the plate; the thing was piping hot. Leaving the plate well alone, Castiel turned his attention to the meat, picking it up and trying to bite into it. But the meat burnt his fingers and his tongue and he ended up dropping it on the floor. Scowling, he reached down to pick up the leg, thought better of it, and grabbed a paper towel from the counter, wrapping it around his hand and using it to pick up the offending object. Marching over to the trash can, Castiel flipped open the lid and unceremoniously dumped the leg into the can, slamming it shut with a look of disgust etched in his face. Stupid thing. 

"Having trouble I see." came a voice from behind him and Castiel whirled around to see Gabriel leaning against the door frame.

"Oh, shut up." Castiel shot back.

"Someone's in a bad mood. What's wrong, did you make a move on Dean-o and he freaked?" 

"Huh?" Castiel snapped his head over to look at Gabriel as he pushed himself off the wall and sauntered deeper into the kitchen. "What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend Cassie, I've seen the way you look at him. Like he's a piece of candy and your sweet tooth is dying for a taste."

"What the hell sort of comparison is that?"

"One for people who get high on enough sugar to kill a diabetic."

"So you?"

"You know what I mean Cassie. You loooooove him." Gabriel teased, drawing out the word and making kissy faces at Castiel. 

"You're crazy, you know that right?" Castiel raised one eyebrow at the younger boy. "Go eat some more candy or something, I'm going to bed."

Castiel pushed past Gabriel and made his way down the hall, leaving Gabriel to call after him. 

"You didn't deny it!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dean Winchester POV

It was Monday. The weekend was over and Castiel's "Pimpmobile" was finally fixed. Dean had finished working on it Saturday afternoon. The car ran smoothly and didn't stall anymore. Even though Dean was proud of his work, he was rather disappointed that he wouldn't be driving Castiel to school anymore or hanging out with him as much. He had enjoyed his time with the other boy and, as much as Castiel pretended, it was obvious that he had no regrets about asking Dean to fix his car for him. 

Castiel had been acting strange lately though, always jumpy when Dean was around and would ask him at least twice a day if he had come outside on Friday to check on him. Dean had no idea why it was so important to Castiel; The guy was fast asleep when he had come inside, why would he be worried about something like that? 

The school day had passed unusually fast. They had gotten their test results back in Physics. Dean had gotten a 97% and had been very surprised due to his lack of studying. Physics wasn't exactly the easiest subject. Castiel had received a 100% and had shamelessly boasted to Dean, pleased to have gotten a higher grade, no matter how many times all their teachers had told them it wasn't a competition. 

During lunch today, Dean had looked for Castiel. He had never noticed if they shared a lunch period, being that lunch was an elective, and was curious. Fortunately, Castiel did have a lunch and the two boys sat together outside, munching on sandwiches and talking about movies and music and whatever else came to mind. 

The moment that stood out most to Dean was discovering Castiel's obsession for the Lord of the Rings movies. The guy could quote it and recite whole scenes. Dean had excitedly joined in and they ended up in a heated debate, discussing characters and plot for almost the rest of the lunch period. While Dean gave off an air of bad-boy mechanic who enthusiastically watched football matches in his spare time, he was, as Sam put it, 'a closet nerd'. He was a big fan of tv shoes like Game of Thrones and had even watch some pretty strange movies with Sammy. 

Dean pulled out of his daydream to focus on driving home. Sam was in the front seat, complaining about the music but not daring to touch it.

"Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole." Dean would remind the towering sophomore every time they were in the car. So as much as Sammy complained, he would have to suffer through Metallica. 

When Dean turned on to their street, he was surprised to see a car parked outside their house. It was large, intimidating and black, like one of those cars you saw in a cheesy FBI flick.

Dean pulled into the driveway and a man in a suit got out of the car. He looked at Dean sharply and Dean could tell he was silently judged him. 

"Are you Mr. John Winchester?" the man asked.

"No, that's my father. He's away on business, may I take a message for him?" Dean said carefully. 

"I'm afraid you boys need to vacate this house. The rent on this establishment hasn't been paid for nearly seven months and the government cannot allow you to carry on living here if there is no payment."

Dean was shocked. Could the guy do this? Probably, but Dean had never been taught anything about this. All he could manage was a confused, "What?". 

"I'm sorry." The man stated, not sounding sorry at all. "Do you have any relatives you could stay with?"

"I...... I......" Dean could think, couldn't breathe. 

"Yeah, he does." A voice called from what seemed like a million miles away to Dean. He was shocked beyond complete comprehension and could barely hear himself think. 

"And you are?" the man turned and faced the newcomer, taking in his casual attire and bare feet. 

"My name is Castiel. The Winchester's aunt and I live down the street." 

Castiel was lying to a government official. Was that even legal? 

"I'm afraid I hadn't caught your name, Sir." Castiel continued. 

"You may call me Mr. Alastair." the man said curtly. Clearly he wasn't very friendly.

"Well, I'm sure the Winchesters will be fine with us. If they could go inside to gather their belongings, their aunt and I would like to get them home now." 

Castiel tried to stay calm, Dean could see it in the slope of his shoulder and the way he held himself, stiffly, like he was in pain. How did he know this was going to work? Could someone go to jail for something like this? Dean had no idea what Castiel was saying, didn't know if it was legal, didn't even know what he was doing anymore. He was still in a state of shock. John Winchester hadn't told Dean about his debt, hadn't made it seem like he was drowning in bills and couldn't pay rent. The man tried too hard to keep things a secret and now he was gone, leaving Dean and Sam to fend for themselves until he got back.

"I will return in two hours. I expect them and any possessions they need to be gone by then." Alastair said stiffly. He marched to the car and got in, pulling out and running his tires over the lawn as he did so, leaving gouge marks in the grass and ripping it up as he sped away down the street. 

Dean could sympathize with the grass. It had been simply existing, not doing anything wrong and suddenly, something had come and torn it up, literally uprooting it from its base and left to hope for survival. 

"Dean," Sam's voice said from behind him. He hadn't even realized his brother had gotten out of the car. Dean took a deep breath. He had to be strong, for Sam.

"Hey, it's fine. Don't worry. Dad will come back and he'll sort this all out okay? We'll be fine."

"Dean, I-" Castiel began but Dean cut him off with a wave of his hand. 

"Thanks Cas, for everything. I guess this is goodbye then." he said hesitantly. 

"Dean? Didn't you hear me? You and Sam are going to live with us. You have nowhere to go, right?"

"I can't let you do that Cas. I can't do that to your family." Dean said, looking down at his feet. How had this happened? 

"Dean," Castiel said gently. "Come on, go inside, get what you need, put it in the Impala and we can go to my place, okay?"

Dean numbly got his keys from the Impala, walking silently over to the door and unlocking it for what he hoped wasn't the last time. Thoughts were running through his head. He was eighteen, so he could be Sam's legal guardian. The kid only had two years to go until he was eighteen too, but they couldn't live off the Novak's hospitality for that long. He would have to think of something. And school, how did that work? He had never thought to take any school-offered classes on that, never had he ever though he would be needing those anytime soon. 

Stepping into the house, Dean made his way to his room. Scooping clothes out of the drawers, he shoved them into a box he found in the corner, piling his school textbooks and anything else he deemed necessary on top. He didn't have much to begin with, the family had never had much money. Thinking of Sam, he ran downstairs and grabbed the laundry detergent they had always used. Maybe a comforting smell would make this easier on him. 

Toiletries, clothes, any money in the house, a few granola bars, his phone charger, school work, a blanket for Sam, the stuff filled this box and then another. Dean ran from his room and rushed to the sitting room, grabbing the one photo album the family had. In it were the only pictures of his mother that he and Sam had. She had died in a house fire when Sam was six months old. Dean had been only two but he still remembered his mother's screams, his father's yells, the unbearable heat, running out of the house at his father's order, clutching Sam and the photo album he had been looking at before the fire started.

Dean went back to his room and deposited the album in the box. Next, he went to his father's room and pulled his parent's wedding photo down from the shelf. He rummaged through the drawers, looking for any spare money. He found a twenty and a few quarters. Rage burned suddenly in Dean. How dare John leave his sons like this? He must have know how far behind on the rent he was, how far behind on the bills he had gotten. Things had been shutting off one by one, heating and cooling was gone and the electricity was next. Cable was a thing of memories and internet connection was non-existent. Dean had known something was wrong but John had never answered his calls, never acknowledged his voicemails.

"Dean, I'm done." Sam said from the doorway. He was clutching his suitcase and a small box was in his arms. he looked so small and vulnerable, nothing like the 6'4" giant he was. 

"Let's go Sammy." Dean returned to his room and stacked his boxes, scooping them up and looking around at the room before he left, shutting the door behind him. 

The brothers made their way to the Impala and Dean put their stuff in the trunk. Castiel had stuck around and he was leaning against the car, waiting for the brothers to be done. 

"Come on, Dean." he said gently, registering the pain and broken expression Dean wore on his face, the expression he was trying so hard to hide from Sam. 

"Let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dean Winchester POV

"Come on, Dean." Castiel said softly, as if Dean was a glass figurine that was cracked and only needed a breath of air to shatter it. Dean hated him for it at the moment, but he knew that wasn't fair. This wasn't Castiel's fault. It was his, well, at least, it felt like it was his. Dean didn't know what to do. He was supposed to be the strong, confident older brother who could get through anything. But now, all Dean could feel was numb shock. 

"Let's go." Castiel said again, still speaking to Dean like he was a spooked wild animal. Dean took his and Sam's boxes and placed them in the trunk of the Impala. He opened his car door and slid in, starting the engine and leaving Sam and Castiel to scramble in the car before he pulled away. Dean drive to the Novak house and parked out front. He glanced into the backseat to look at Castiel. Sam had gotten to the front seat first, or maybe Castiel had let the younger boy have it, and Castiel was stuck in the back seat, staring at Dean with sad eyes. 

Castiel opened his car door and got out, walking to Sam's door and opening it for him too. Dean got out on his own and went to the trunk, taking out the boxes and carrying them to the door. Sam stopped his and took his stuff from Dean. Dean gave his a little smile of encouragement. 

Castiel ushered Dean and Sam from the Impala to the house. He pulled open the front door and let the brothers wander inside, shutting the door behind them. 

"Dean," Sam whispered. "Where is Dad? Will he be back soon to fix this?" he fixed his large, confused eyes on Dean's face and stared into the dull green orbs that were Dean's eyes. "He's coming back, right?"

"Right, Sammy." Dean said monotonously. He looked at his brother and tried to bring the life back into his eyes for Sam's sake. "He'll be back really soon."

"Sam," Castiel turned to the younger Winchester. Sam turned away from Dean to look at him. "You don't mind sleeping in Gabe's room right? you could stay with Dean and I can move in with Gabriel for now if you want."

"You can go with Gabriel." Dean told Sam with no emotion in his voice. Sam looked over at him and nodded. 

"Sure that's fine." Sam replied to Castiel, turning away from him and Dean to walk down the hallway to Gabriel's room. 

"Dean, you can bunk with me, okay?" Castiel turned his worried gaze to the eldest Winchester. "Dean? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, I'm listening." Dean said distractedly, tearing his eyes off Sam's retreating back to focus on Castiel. "Your room, right?" 

Castiel nodded and Dean grabbed his stuff off the floor where he had set it down and set off down the hall. He ignored the opening door and the confused "Dean?" that came from it. It was Ana. 

"Ana," Castiel called softly from the end of the hall. She turned and headed towards him, casting glances back at Dean the whole way. 

"What-" 

Castiel cut her off and mumbled something to her, she replied equally as quiet and Castiel disappeared further into the house, Ana trailing behind him. 

Dean kept walking and reached Castiel's door. Balancing the boxes on his knee, he fumbled for the door handle. The door swung open and Dean lost his balance as his source of support vanished. He stumbled and the boxes toppled off his knee, landing on the floor with a muffled thump, followed seconds later by the much lounder bang of Dean falling next to them with an grunt of pain. 

Rolling to the side, Dean kicked the boxes out of the way and slammed the door shut with his heel. He lay on the ground, staring up at the ceiling and not moving, too tired to bother with getting up. 

The door Dean had just shut opened and Castiel poked his head in, taking in Dean and the boxes on the floor. 

"You okay?" he asked. 

"Just peachy." Dean replied, his usual snark re-entering his voice.

"Why are you on the floor?"

"The floor.... uh.... needed a hug."

"From your face?"

"Shut up." Dean sat up and shuffled back so he was leaning against the wall. Castiel came further into the room and shut the door behind him, sitting down next to Dean. 

"Thank you Cas." Dean said quietly. "I don't know what Sam and I would have done. You know, you didn't have to do this for us."

"Dean, I-"

"But I'm glad you did." Dean looked over at Castiel's face and smiled. "We just need a few days, Sam and I can leave later. Just a few days to get used to this and them we will get out of your way." Dean stared at Castiel's face, watching it fall and he quickly looked away. "Or we could leave now, you know, it's fine if you want is out."

"No!" Castiel said sharply. "No," he said again, this time not as hurriedly. "I've talked to my mom, she said you can stay for as long as you want. Until your dad comes home and you find another place to stay, you're more than welcome here."

Dean looked back over at Castiel. "Your mom? The one who made those phenomenal pies?"

"The same one." Castiel said with a grin.

"I guess we can stay..."

Castiel laughed. Dean managed a smile and the boys sat against the wall in silence for the next few minutes. the silence was interrupted my the growling of Dean's stomach and the taller boy blushed. 

"Hungry?" Castiel asked with a grin

"Starved." Dean admitted. "What time is it anyways?"

"Eh, five-ish, maybe....." Castiel trailed off with a sheepish grin. 

"So you have no idea." Dean slowly got up and rolled his shoulders, stretching his tense muscles. Castiel started getting up too and Dean extended a hand to him, which Castiel accepted and used to haul himself to his feet. He turned and opened the door, stepping out and waiting for Dean to follow. Together, they went into the kitchen, where the found Sam and Gabriel already sitting at the table, munching on popcorn and watching some tv show on a laptop.

"Why are you in the kitchen?" Castiel asked. "We have a perfectly good television in the other room." 

"Ana, Meg and some other girl are watching a movie in there. Something with dancing and romance and a sappy storyline." Gabriel replied through a mouthful of popcorn. "Plus the laptop works perfectly fine."

"But the kitchen?"

"Food." Sam said simply, not bothering to look away from the screen as he replied. 

Dean and Castiel maneuvered around the pair and began to hunt for something to eat. Castiel dug through the fridge and pulled out cold burgers, presumably leftovers from a previous night dinner. 

"How many do you want?" Castiel asked Dean, who held up two fingers in reply. Castiel stuck four of the burgers on a plate and placed them in the microwave to reheat. As the dinner heated up, Castiel grabbed the burger buns and Dean searched the fridge for condiments.

The microwave beeped loudly and Gabriel shot Castiel a look of annoyance. He tapped Sam lightly on the shoulder and the two stood up. Gabriel grabbed the laptop and they exited the room in some sort of ungraceful shuffle, balancing the laptop and popcorn without looking away from the screen as they did so. The sound of talking characters faded away until Dean heard a door shut and the noise vanished completely. 

"That is the strangest thing I've seen all day." Dean commented and Castiel made a noise of agreement. 

Dean and Castiel are their burgers in the kitchen at the table, talking about their school work and movies and whatever else came to mind. When they finished, Dean stacked their plates and much to Castiel's annoyance, put them in the dishwasher and proceeded to load the rest of the dirty dishes. 

"This is not your job, Dean. I am perfectly capable of doing this on my own later. Lucifer could even do it. Stop cleaning."

"Cas, if I'm going to stay in your house, take up space and eat your food, I'm going to load this goddamn dishwasher whether you like it or not!"

Still grumbling, Castiel told Dean that he would be in the room and he left, leaving Dean alone with the dirty dishes and soapy water. 

Dean finished loading the dishes in the dishwasher and dried his hands. He turned around and looked around the kitchen, absentmindedly leaning against the sink. This was where he and Sam were going to live for the next..... Dean honestly didn't know how long they would be there. He hadn't even called Dad yet. He would probably be furious that Dean hadn't done anything but what was there to do? Conjure a couple hundred dollars from thin air?

A cold sensation was spreading along Dean's lower back and he pulled away from the sink in disgust. While he had been doing the dishes, he had gotten water everywhere and a good portion of it was now soaked through his t-shirt, plastering the thin material to his skin.

Dean pulled his wet t-shirt away from his skin and walked towards Castiel's room, twisting to see exactly how wet his shirt was as he went and bumping into stuff the whole way there. He let himself into the room and didn't see Castiel anywhere. Listening hard, Dean could hear water running somewhere in the house, probably the shower. Assuming it was Castiel, Dean shut the bedroom door and stripped off his t-shirt. Flinging the garment into the corner Dean headed towards the bigger of his two boxes. Opening the cardboard flaps, he pawed through the cloth inside, looking for a new shirt. Unfortunately, all his shirts must have been at the bottom (he had packed them all first) and he was having trouble finding one. Dean started dumping jeans on the floor in his search. He paused, giving the wad of fabric in the corner a guilty glance. Sighing, Dean abandoned his search for a shirt and crossed the room to the shirt, which he picked up gently and draped across the back of Castiel's desk chair. Looking back at the mess he had made, Dean sighed yet again. He was doing that a lot lately he noticed with a roll of his eyes.

Moving back to the box, Dean pawed through a few more garments, finally finding his shirt and dropping it on the floor in order to scoop up the clothes he had deposited on the floor. As he was shoving the last pair of jeans into the box, he heard the door behind him open. Whirling around, Dean found himself staring at a damp-haired Castiel. The water in his hair had turned it a dark black and it was dripping water down the back of his neck. A towel was slung low on his hips, revealing tanned skin and lean muscles.

Dean gulped. He tore his eyes away from Castiel's torso and gestured towards his boxes wordlessly, silently groping for words that had flown from his brain the moment Castiel had walked in. 

Castiel found his voice first. "I didn't realize you were in here." He managed and Dean nodded stupidly. 

"Yeah, I was just.... my shirt..... wet..... I'm gonna leave now." Dean got out before scooping his shirt off the floor and squeezing past Castiel and out the door, trying not to inhale the clean fresh scent of Castiel's skin. 

Dean got out the door and shit it behind him sharply. He took a deep breath and fell back to lean against the piece of wood that was separating him from Castiel, gripping the t-shirt tightly in his fist. 

He was not supposed to be affected by Castiel like this. He could not be attracted to the guy he was living with. He wouldn't get anything done, he'd be too busy staring. This was not going to be a fun stay at the Novak house if Dean couldn't keep his emotions in check. 

________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Castiel had been startled to find a shirtless Dean standing in his bedroom. He had expected him to maybe still be cleaning the dishes or maybe looking for Sam or something, not standing in his room looking all attractive and gorgeous without his shirt. 

Castiel stood frozen as Dean rushed out of the room, brushing past him in a flurry of hasty noises of apology and mutters of "wet shirt". After Dean had left, Castiel heard a thump outside the door, most likely Dean slumping against it. Castiel grinned. The poor senior was probably feeling extremely embarrassed. 

Castiel got dressed quickly and opened the door to find Dean was still sitting outside the door, his head in his heads as he rested his chin on knees pulled up to his chest. He looked up when he heard the door open and looked at Castiel with his ridiculously bright green eyes. 

"Hey." 

"You're still here." Castiel observed. 

"Where would I go?" Dean said pointedly. 

"Fair enough. Do you want to come back in? It's late." Castiel gestured to the room behind him. 

"What time is it?" Dean quizzically raised one eyebrow. 

"Eh, late. I don't know. 9-ish I think."

"Do you ever know what time it really is?" Dean asked with a laugh, no doubt remembering his earlier estimation of five-ish. 

"Maybe....?" Castiel tried and Dean laughed again. 

"Okay, sure. I'm tired anyways." Dean pulled himself to his feet and walked on stiff legs into Castiel's room. 

"You're bowlegged." Castiel stated, noticing the wider stride that Dean had when he walked, his knees bowed outward. 

"So?" 

"No reason. I'm just noticing."

Dean shrugged and looked around the bedroom. "Are we gonna share a bed again or am I sleeping on the floor?"

"Uh, I..... I hadn't really thought about that." Castiel said honestly. "I don't really care either way, whatever makes you most comfortable. I don't recommend the floor however. It's not the best choice. I one had to sleep on the floor when I broke my bed and I didn't get much sleep at all."

"You broke your bed?" Dean asked with a smirk. "How on earth did you manage to do that? Did you have help?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

"Oh, shut up. Yes, I did break the bed. I was only nine. Now stop you perverted thoughts and pick where you want to sleep!" Castiel said crossly. "No, I wanna know how." Dean insisted. "i was jumping and I cracked the entire bed frame and splintered the side board, okay." Castiel said with a sigh of exasperation. "Happy?." "I am now." Dean said with a grin. "so, the floor is uncomfortable, huh?" "No, it's like sleeping on a cloud." Castiel rolled his eyes. "You probably wouldn't last the night, it would be so uncomfortable." 

"Well if you're so against me sleeping on the floor...." Dean started. "I'm picking the bed."

"Fine," Castiel said. "Now go to sleep."

"Without my favorite bed-breaker? How will I ever manage?" Dean gasped dramatically, throwing a hand across his forehead in mock distress. 

"You suck." Castiel said with a grin. 

"Nah, you love me." Dean retaliated. 

"That's kinda the problem" Castiel thought with a grimace. 

Dean slid out of his jeans so he was dressed simply in his boxers and changes into a fresh t-shirt. How he found it after the fiasco of the wet t-shirt earlier, Castiel could only guess. He watched as Dean slid into the bed and curled up against the wall, pulling the blankets over himself and peeking out at Castiel. 

"You're so strange." Castiel shucked off his jeans and pulled on a new shirt, noticing as Dean's eyes roved over his exposed skin. Letting it slide this time, Castiel crossed the room to the bed and slid in next to Dean.

They awkwardly lay in bed together, not touching, and Castiel kept himself stiff and ridged until he heard the deep breathing that signified that Dean had fallen asleep. Only then did he relax. 

Castiel glanced over at Dean, taking in his calm features. He looked so vulnerable when he was asleep. His eyebrows weren't furrowed and his jaw was unclenched. He was relaxed and Castiel found it oddly comforting that Dean was able to let go of everything he had been through today just so he could sleep. 

Castiel rolled over onto his side away from Dean, and promptly fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been adding to this periodically and there are multiple updates in each chapter. Things have been condensed and I added whole sections of new text. Just so you're aware.

Chapter 8

Castiel Novak POV

Castiel woke to the sound of yelling. The sound was muffled, as if it was coming to Castiel's ears through a thick layer of cotton. He stuck one arm out of the warmth of his bed and reached for his clock by the bed, the cold air if the room jarring his senses and waking him up further. Tilting the face so he could read it, Castiel read the time and mentally cursed out whoever was yelling at 2:17 in the morning. He extracted his arm from the cold air and pulled it back under the covers, rolling over to snuggle down into the mattress and sleep some more.

Something felt wrong though, and Castiel couldn't put his finder on it. His brain began to sleepily deduce exactly what was missing and he slowly came to the conclusion that Dean.....

Castiel shot up in bed. Dean was gone. The bed next to Castiel was cold and he couldn't smell the warm coffee and mint smell of Dean, or even the metallic oil smell that has lingered on him, no doubt from Dean's dedication to his car, making sure to pop the hood and tinker with her to make sure she was running smoothly at least once a day without fail.

The yelling got louder and angrier and Castiel couldn't ignore it anymore. It sounded close, so he kicked the tangled covered off himself and attempted to sit up in bed, only to get his feet tangled in the duvet and loose his balance, falling onto the floor with a crash instead of sitting on the bed. The yelling stopped, the voice's owner listening for any more sounds and Castiel froze, not daring to breathe. He slowly detangled himself and pulled his body back up onto the bed. The voice that had been yelling earlier got louder again and Castiel was left wondering how the rest of the house was still asleep. With a final shout, the voice stopped and stomping feet came clomping down the hall towards Castiel's room. The bedroom door opened and an enduros red Dean stormed in, clutching a small mobile phone in one clenched fist. He was red faced and was breathing hard, tense with anger. Dean noticed Castiel sitting on the bed watching him, head cocked to the side in confusion.

"Dean, are you alright." Castiel asked quietly, careful not to be loud and wake the rest of the house.

"Alright isn't the word I would use." Dean said bitterly. "Barely managing, that's a better description."

"What's wrong?" Castiel asked innocently.

"Dad isn't coming gone for a week or so. He's too worried about his stupid job, all wrapped up in whatever the hell he does that he won't tell Sam and I and too busy about to care that his two sons are homeless." Dean said loudly, face clenching up in what Castiel recognized as the face that most people make when they're holding back tears. Castiel didn't want to push Dean but he knew he would feel better if he got whatever the hell he was worried about off his chest. He patted the bed next to him, his hand sinking down into the duvet. Dean raised an eyebrow and looked at Castiel through what seemed to be watery eyes.

"Oh god, please don't cry please don't cry I don't know what to do when people cry do you hug them because I don't know and I can't help Dean if he starts crying but I thought he was super strong and that he never cried and oh my god is that's tear?"

Castiel's thoughts were running rapidly through his head, so loud that he could barely think and all he could do was stare at Dean, who did indeed have a single tear running down his face. Castiel awkwardly extended his arms and moved to hug Dean but thought better of it and just sort of patted him on the shoulder. It was strange and Castiel felt weird doing it but it seemed to soothe Dean so he moved his hand to Dean's back and started rubbing small circles on his skin through the t-shirt Dean was wearing. He felt warm and firm, and Castiel could feel his muscles stretching and contracting every time Dean took a breath. He could feel how desperate each inhale was and how shaky each exhale came out, stuttering and tripping out of Dean's lungs into the open air.

"He said it's my fault." Dean said quietly. Castiel stiffened, still rubbing the small circles but also listening intently as Dean spoke softly. "He's said stuff like this before, you know. That it was my fault when Sam broke his arm and it was my fault when he lost his first job and it was my fault when Sam got lost at the grocery store that one time and it was my fault when Mom died and-" Dean's voice cracked and he pressed his lips together as another small tear rolled down his cheek. "I was just a kid. I didn't need that crap and now..." Dean turned his head away from Castiel, breathing jaggedly, trying to regain his composure. Castiel just kept his hand on Dean's back, calming him as he struggled to keep from breaking down in front of Castiel.

"A six year old should not be told that their mother's death is their fault." Dean said brokenly and Castiel's heart wrenched. He didn't know how Mary Winchester had died and he knew this probably wasn't the right time to ask so he kept quiet.

Dean shuddered and Castiel sighed and pulled Dean closer, putting an arm around him in a never-to-be-repeated gesture. Dean just leaned into him and sat there, shaking every so often.

Castiel just held him and Dean slowly fell asleep in Castiel's arms. Gently tugging the cell phone from the death grip Dean had on it, he places it on the bedside table and laid Dean down on the bed, curling up next to him and pulling the blankets over both of them. In his sleep, Dean pulled Castiel closer, getting a sigh of acceptance from the smaller man. Castiel closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

__________________________

Dean Winchester POV

Weeks passed and Dean slowly adjusted to like at the Novak's house. He woke up next to Castiel (he tried it to think about that too much though), ate, went to school, came home, did homework, ate again and went to bed, only to repeat the routine the next morning. Almost a month passed like this and Dean kept his phone next to him throughout it, always waiting for the call that meant that is father was coming home soon. 

School ended on the 12 of June, on what felt like the hottest Friday of the year. Dean had aced his final exams and was focusing instead on his future education. Sam was encouraging him to apply to some fancy college with a famous name so he could get a degree in engineering, the one thing that Dean was truly passionate about. But Dean was saving all the money he had for Sam. The kid was practically a genius, if his test scores were anything to go by, and Dean was sure he would get into a college with an extremely high five digit tuition fee. It didn't matter if Sammy got a scholarship, which he would most definitely get anyways, Dean knew that there was no way he could get enough money to pay for both his and Sam's education. He refused any of Castiel's offers to pay for Dean and to help add to the money Dean had set aside for Sam, insisting that he just had to find a job and could get his father to help him pay for it, whenever he could be bothered to come back from back from God know where he may be.

Dean decided to take a gap year before he went to college. By then he hoped that he would have a steady job that paid well enough, and John would be back and could put whatever money he had towards Sam. 

So Dean waited for the phone call, hoping that it would come soon, that he wouldn't have to worry about Sam as much as he did, something that Castiel insisted was unhealthy. 

John Winchester had finally called a few days ago, saying that he was taking a flight home during the third week of June. He was in the airport when he had called and was flying to his sons now. Dean was waiting for him to call from the airport after the plane landed. 

The call came at 7:38 at night. Dean had sat up waiting for the phone to ring, refusing to leave until he got word of his father's arrival. The phone finally rang and Dean jumped almost a foot, fumbling over himself in his haste to answer the phone, clutching it to his face as he answered with a breathy "Hello?"

"Is this Dean Winchester?" The voice said, a voice that was most definitely not his Dad's. 

"Who is this?" Dean asked slowly, a sinking feeling entering his stomach and twisting around inside of him. 

__________________________

Castiel Novak POV

Dean stayed on the phone for only a few minutes longer, his lips pressed together firmly and his eye wide, listening intently and nodding occasionally. Castiel stood behind him silently, waiting for him to get off the phone and turn around to smile and say that his father had gotten off the plane and that he was on his way to his sons, to help them and be with them like a father should do. Castiel waited quietly as Dean silently hung up the phone and slowly turned around. But in place of the grin Castiel was expecting to see, he was met with the most broken expression a human could possible have etched across Dean's pale face. He opened his mouth soundlessly and blinked, breathing jaggedly and shuddering lightly. 

"Dean, is everything okay? That was your father right?" Castiel asked, confused. He tilted his head to the left slightly and took a step towards Dean. 

"No," came the answer. 

"No?" Castiel didn't understand. "Dean-"

"My father isn't coming home." Dean said tonelessly. "His plane went down over the mountains. No survivors."

"Dean?" came the quiet voice from the doorway. "Dean?" Sam said again, face falling as he took in what just he heard Dean say. 

Dean wordlessly opened his arms and San, the 6' 4" fearless giant who towered over everyone he was near, who could stand up to Gabriel's casual insults and could put up with his never ending chatter, ran to his brother and buried his face in his shoulder. Dean hugged him tightly and tucked his little brother's head under his chin, rubbing circles on his back.

"Shhh," Dean whispered into Sam's too long hair. "There's going to be a funeral soon and I can start working at Bobby's shop and we can get a place to live and I can help with your college payment when we get to that and-" Dean was cut off by Sam elbowing him in the stomach. With a whoosh of air, Dean slumped over slightly and Sam sniffed, giving Dean a small glare and clearly telling him to "shut up". 

Sam let go of Dean and sort of patted him on the shoulder, turning to scamper off to Gabriel's room, hopefully not too upset or miserable enough to bring Gabe close to tears. 

"Well, he recovered quickly." Castiel thought. The younger boy hadn't had as strong as a relationship with his father as Dean had though so Castiel supposed it wasn't too abnormal. 

Dean made his way across the room and past Castiel to the bedroom. He opened the door and walked in. Castiel had finally painted it and it was now a gorgeous shade of green, one that Dran couldn't quiet give a name to. It was a spring green, yet dark and bright all at the same time. Dean crossed the room to the bed and sat down, slumping over and putting his head in his hands. Castiel followed him and sat down next to the older brother. 

"Hey, Dean. It's okay. I know you're going to miss your dad but he trusted you to keep Sam safe and you can do that. Like you said, you can take that job at the scrap shop and you can use the money to pay for Sam's education and you can even buy your own house but you're still welcome here, you always will be, because what kind of host would I be if I kicked you out and left you alone. And you can-" Castoel rambled and Dean opened his mouth to cut him off. 

"You talk too much," he said simply, leaning into Castiel. "Stop talking." 

"Make me." Castiel said automatically, only to stop and hold his breath, hoping Dean didn't pick up on the sexual tension Castiel had just initiated. 

It appeared he did and Dean froze and looked at Castiel gently. Castiel felt his eyes widen and licked his lips slightly. Dean's eyes followed the movement and then flicked back up to Castiel's eyes. Castiel could see Dean swallow and then slowly lean in. Castiel's lower lip brushed Dean's and the paused, sharing air and just brushing against each other. Castiel looked at Dean for a moment, then slid his eyes shut and leaned all the way in, sealing his lips against Dean's and kissing him gently. Dean's lips were warm and full, soft against Castiel's chapped lips. Dean leaned into Castiel and wrapped his arms around the other boy's torso clutching him closer and angling his head slightly. Dean tasted sweet and slightly lemony, like those lemon-mint cough drops that he always had on hand during the winter. 

Castiel reached up and ran his fingers through Dean's short golden hair, twisting the strands and tugging slightly. Dean kissed him harder and Castiel replied with equal enthusiasm. 

Something off to the right of them shattered and they broke apart and jumped away from each other, standing up. Turning to look at the source of the noise, they spotted a wide-eyed Gabriel standing in front of a pile of broken glad that once had been a cup. 

"Gabe, what did you do? Did you drop something else? Again!?!?!" came Sam's voice from down the hall and he came trotting out of Gabriel's room and nearly crashed into Gabriel himself. "What the hell aren't you moving?"

"I'm sorry," Gabriel said. "I didn't realize you were.... uh...." He shuffled his feet. "Getting acquainted with each other."

"Gabe?" Sam said. 

"He walked in on us kissing, Sam!" Dean said, exasperated. 

"Finally!" Sam said, rolling his eyes. "You two were having so much eye sex that I could barely breath around you guys."

Dean's eyes widened and he blushed, stuttering and mumbling phrases like "I haven't" didn't" "Jesus, Sam" and "that little shit". Castiel heard and laughed quietly. 

"We're gonna go back to my room, okay?" Gabriel said as he and Sam backed out of Castiel's bedroom. "Be safe" he said over his shoulder. "And use protection!" he called, slamming the door behind him and howling with laughter loud enough to be heard from behind the shut door. 

"Oh my God." Castiel said, mortified. "I am so sorry for that, Gabe shouldn't have-" he said, turning to look at Dean and finding him hunched over and barely containing his amusement. "Oh, shut up!" Castiel exclaimed. Dean just laughed at him.


End file.
